GORKHA: The Gandaki Rural Municipality in Gorkha district has started ambulance service for free to the pregnant and new moms of the rural municipality.

The ambulance service was started to take the pregnant women to the birthing centres and other hospitals and take them back home, rural municipality Chairman Dipak Timelsina said.

“The pregnant women should be taken to any of the hospitals out of this rural municipality for labour pain. In this circumstance, the rural municipality has started providing ambulance service for free,” Timelsina said.

Economically poor women would benefit largely with the service, it is said. “The risk for women and infants’ lives is high while giving birth to the babies at home.”

“With the availability of free ambulance service, the trend of giving birth to the babies at home will completely end,” he added.

The ambulance service is accessible to all the citizens from all ward and has come into operation from Wednesday.